Guide: Operative Concealment PvE!

PROLOGUE

Hey people!

A very good friend of mine is a hardcore WoW's rogue player that raids and pvpes in top guilds. I respect his knowledge about the mechanics of his class and also for his fast decisions and reactions that are needed to play in high level.

During summer we had long talks about SWTOR and we had both decided to reroll to this new game. The Blizzard gave to him a Rogue's only legendary and his mind changed. I unsubscribed from WoW and started playing SWTOR. He was thinking playing the game later and I gave him my account to try it out. He was thinking playing an Assassin but I persuaded him to try Operative. And he did. And he loved it. Now, I have an Operative on my account and I have to say that I love her! They have an amazing playstyle that is really really strong even after last patch's nerf. I've seen a lot of Operatives PvPing but almost none at PvE. At least none dps as the few ops I've found where healers.

That's why I decided to make this guide for Operative's Concealment PvE. So, let's start.

1. SPEC

This is the spec that I use 3/31/7. It's NOT based on the most dps output possible and it's more of a starter for operation. It based on mobility (melee classes need to be fast in fights with a lot of adds, shit on the ground etc) and survivability (you can't dps if you are dead.

Another way to get energy fast is Adrenaline Probe that recovers 50 energy in 3 secs with a 2 minute cooldown.

3. ABILITIES

Rifle Shot Basic attack costs no energy use it on your rotation to keep your energy from dropping.

Hidden Strike Highest damaging ability, grants Tactical Advantage and can only be used from stealth. Use it as an opener.

Shiv Use it to gain Tactical Advantage.

LacerationRequires the Tactical Advantage buff. Has 50% chance to proc a second free attack that would also refresh Tactical Advantage if the target is poisoned.

Backstab Hits like a truck, must be always used after Acid Blade. Must be behind the target to use it.

Acid Blade Buffs the next Hidden Strike or Backstab and applies a ridiculesly strong DoT over 6 seconds and increase armour penetration by 30% for 15 seconds. Backstab must followed. Needless to say, this is the funeral of every boss.

Fragmentation Grenade AoE attack. Hits up to 5 opponents.
Corrosive Dart a good DoT that must be ALWAYS be up. If it's up, Laceration has chance to refresh Tactical Advantage.Orbital Strike AoE damage to be used on CD. One of the strongest AoE attacks in game

Adrenaline Probe Not a damage ability but still must be used on CD. Use it when you want to burst

Cloaking Screen Not a damage ability, puts you back to Stealth. Use it on CD with a Acid Blade buffed Hidden Strike following it.

4. TACTICAL ADVANTAGE

Tactical Advantage is the core ability in Operative playstyle. Defeating an opponent or activating Shiv or Hidden Strike puts you in a position of Tactical Advantage, increasing all damage dealt by 2% and enabling the use of executions for 10 seconds. Up to 2 charges of Tactical Advantage can exist at once.

Abilities that generate TA:

Shiv

Hidden Strike

Plus defeating an opponent give you TA.

Abilities that consume TA:

Cull

Laceration

Stim Boost

Carbine Burst

Kolto Infusion

Remember, Tactical Advantage increased damage by 2%, so you should always have at least one stack up at all times if it's possible. Before using an TA consuming Ability, use Shiv to get 2 stacks before losing 1 and keep 1 stack up.

5. ROTATION

So, the rotation goes like this. Start with stealth and then use Hidden Strike. That gives you 1 TA. Use Stim Boost, that will consume the 1 TA. Acid Blade time then. It would be a preparation buff that does nothing until you use Backstab. 30% of the target's armor is ignored and a poison DoT is applied that lasts for 6 secs. After that use Shiv to get 1 TA, Laceration will actually have a chance to consume and refresh your TA and keep it up. Use Corrosive Dart to have your DoT up as long as you can. As soon as your energy falls under 60 use Adrenaline Probe and try to have it on CD. Only reasons for not use it asap is that either your energy is high at the moment or you decide it to keep it to use it later with your Adrenals, Relics and the rest of your CDs. After that use Rifle Shot if your energy drops under 80. Also, use Cloaking Screen after the initial burst and the use of Adrenaline Probe and follow it with a Acid Blade buffed Hidden Strike. Use it on CD.

When you are in the the fight there's a priority list.

1. Stim Boost must be always up

2. Shiv to get TA

3. Adrenaline Probe to regen energy

3. Rifle Shot to keep your energy up.

4. Cloaking Screen to get back to Stealth

5. Acid Blade follow by

6. Hidden Strike if you are in Stealth or if you are not

7. Backstab 5, 6 and 7 must be always be used on CD. Those are you strongest hits

8. Corrosive Dart to keep your DoT up

9. Laceration costs 15 energy. Use it when you have 2 TA and Stim Boost is up

10. Overload Shot Cost 17 energy and only use it when you have high energy and you are out of melee range from the target or on burning phase.

6. STATS

Your Primary stat is Cunning. Your gear must always have Cunning. For every 140 Cunning you get 1% crit and also, 1 Cunning gives 0.2 tech damage. As for the secondary stats, accuracy until you reach 100% and then I would suggest Critical and Surge for starters but DON'T stack more than 40% ratio. It seems that after a point critical and surge need much more rating to increase the percentage. After that, go for Power. It's a basic, normal, very linear damage increase. Alacrity is useless, avoid it like Hell.

I could do that. This is mostly a build for the early operations career. That's why I have more survivalist talents on the spec. Later on, with more gear and more endurance for the operative, and more gear for healers, you can skip points at survival training or Inclement Condition. With the spec you have posted you can do more dps and I highly recommend it.

With the spec you have posted you can do more dps and I highly recommend it.

Yeah, because that's what this is all about, is it not? I was just confused about how you wrote "most dps output possible" and didn't specc into Advanced Cloaking. It's pretty much a must have. Also: You may want to write about Overhead Shot - after all it is a talent the specc could use, even though we don't. But sometimes, that confuses people. Just do something like: "Overhead Shot is crap! Costs too much! GFTO Overhead Shot!".

Yeah, because that's what this is all about, is it not? I was just confused about how you wrote "most dps output possible" and didn't specc into Advanced Cloaking. It's pretty much a must have. Also: You may want to write about Overhead Shot - after all it is a talent the specc could use, even though we don't. But sometimes, that confuses people. Just do something like: "Overhead Shot is crap! Costs too much! GFTO Overhead Shot!".

Sorry if it sounds too cocky, just trying to help.

Actually more people should post in this thread. I'm not an expert on SWTOR and I would love the insight of people that have more knowledge than me.

Only thing I have to say about Overhead Shot is: DON'T USE IT ON YOUR ROTATION UNLESS YOU HAVE HIGH ENERGY!

I don't want to sound mean but your guide isn't accurate. For your specs, you should denote mandatory and optional talents (like Survival Training, Inclement Conditioning, and Energy Screen). Also 2/2 Corrosive Microbes is more damage than Lethal Injectors. Lethal Injectors is only a damage increase over long fights (<5 mins) if you are energy starved. Bringing up another point, you never mention Adrenaline Probe. You should try maximize your uses of it every boss fight.

This is terrible advice. OverLoad Shot has no CD and hits hard. It is an energy hog. You use it when you are high on energy or a burn phase.

To be honest, don't have it on your bars was an exaggeration. Still, you should try to avoid using it in your rotation unless you have high energy. I will add Overload Shot and Adrenaline Probe on the guide.

Your talent choices seem bizzare to me. Even the spec you have said has the "most dps output" is missing what i see as essential dps talents such as Tactical Opportunity and Meticulously Kept Blades. While at the same time you have put 1 point into Survival Training, 1 point into Pin Down and 1 point into Jarring Strike (keeping in mind that most Champion lvl mobs won't be effected by those last 2) which i see as pvp talents. Now i can see that you havn't finished putting points into the tree (for whatever reason) but what i can't see is how this would result in the "most dps output". Could you explain please.

Note that i have put points into Inclement Conditioning and Scouting. This is because of the lack of other choices. You could put them into Pin Down and Jarring Strike for those times when they will actually be helpful but i feel that the (albeit minimal) survival increase of Inclement Conditioning and scouting to be a little more beneficial in the long run, especially taking into account the synergy (again minimal) between Stim Boost, Inclement Conditioning, and Revitalisers. Also the extra stealth detection from Scouting means that you'll more easily be able to locate and CC stealthed mobs.

All feedback and criticism welcome.

Btw i in no way claim to be any kind of expert on the Operative (in all honesty it's not even my main class :P) just a geek with too much time :P

Your talent choices seem bizzare to me. Even the spec you have said has the "most dps output" is missing what i see as essential dps talents such as Tactical Opportunity and Meticulously Kept Blades. While at the same time you have put 1 point into Survival Training, 1 point into Pin Down and 1 point into Jarring Strike (keeping in mind that most Champion lvl mobs won't be effected by those last 2) which i see as pvp talents. Now i can see that you havn't finished putting points into the tree (for whatever reason) but what i can't see is how this would result in the "most dps output". Could you explain please.

Note that i have put points into Inclement Conditioning and Scouting. This is because of the lack of other choices. You could put them into Pin Down and Jarring Strike for those times when they will actually be helpful but i feel that the (albeit minimal) survival increase of Inclement Conditioning and scouting to be a little more beneficial in the long run, especially taking into account the synergy (again minimal) between Stim Boost, Inclement Conditioning, and Revitalisers. Also the extra stealth detection from Scouting means that you'll more easily be able to locate and CC stealthed mobs.

All feedback and criticism welcome.

Btw i in no way claim to be any kind of expert on the Operative (in all honesty it's not even my main class :P) just a geek with too much time :P

This is an old guide that would be updated for 1.2 in the next 10 days. As far as your spec, my only oposition is that you should put 2 points to survival training instead of Scouting. Also, I would test in the next couple of days if Lethal Injector is more benefitial than Corrosive Microbes. I'm also working on a hybrid PvP spec so expect more stuff soon

This is an old guide that would be updated for 1.2 in the next 10 days. As far as your spec, my only oposition is that you should put 2 points to survival training instead of Scouting. Also, I would test in the next couple of days if Lethal Injector is more benefitial than Corrosive Microbes. I'm also working on a hybrid PvP spec so expect more stuff soon